Anyone
can write a book - but it takes something special
to create a best-seller
Lee Masterson's step-by-step guide can show you
how!

Learn
to write and sell great short stories easily!
Lee Masterson's best-selling step-by-step guide
can show you how to turn your stories into cash!
Click Here to learn more!

Create Effective Goals to
Write Your Novel
By Lee Masterson

Most writers have goals and dreams that encompass
writing. Your goal might be to write a novel and see it
on those shelves finally. Or you might have the goal of
being able to quit your day job and write instead. You
may be happy to just enjoy the act of writing regardless
of the income it might produce.

No matter what your goal, there are some things you can
do to increase your chances of seeing your dreams come
true.

Write
Down Your Goals

Successful business people, top athletes, entrepreneurs,
wealthy investors and high-achievers in all fields of
life use goal setting techniques.

Its been proven time and again that people who
write down clear, focused goals with realistic outcomes
and achievable deadlines are 97% more likely to reach
those goals.

Similar studies also show that people who create random,
vague goals tend to achieve some minor milestones, but
nothing like the results created by those in the first
group.

Then there are people who dont write down clear-set
goals at all. While they seem to do okay with their
ambitions and goals, imagine how much better they could
have done with a clear set of written goals?

Writing
Your Goals Effectively

To Do List:
- Go Shopping
- See a movie
- Do laundry
- Fill the car with fuel
- Write a novel

Your goals are not the same as a to
do list. They should be created to represent a
clear aim or achievement that youd like to
accomplish. Always be specific about what you want and
include details to narrow your focus even further.

In this case, lets assume your goal is to write a
great novel. Thats an excellent goal, but it also
means creating a few other goals around this one so the
first is more likely to be achieved.

For
example:

- I will dedicate at least 4 hours every week to writing
my novel
- I will write a minimum of 2,000 words every week on my
novel
- I will switch off the TV for one hour each night and
use that time to write my novel

These are just examples of small things you might decide
to add to your goal list in order to make your main
achievement possible. They are each small steps
youll need to take in order to make the end goal of
writing your novel possible and so they become equally as
important as the main end-goal.

Keep
It Positive

If you read the previous tip carefully, you would have
noticed the example goals were written using specific,
positive words. Dont include negatively worded
goals in your list.

Negative goals have the opposite effect and actually make
your mind focus more on the action youre trying to
avoid. Keep your goals positive and focused on what you
really want  and not the things you want to avoid.

Realistic
Expectations

Writing down a list of goals and aspirations is great
fun. It forces you to think about those things
youve always wanted to do and never got around to
doing. It also forces your mind to be honest about a lot
of things youve put off doing, too.

Its important to be realistic about your goals. You
could write down that youd like to write more books
than Stephen King over the next 12 months, but you know
deep down inside that this isnt possible, so
youre setting yourself up for failure before you
begin.

Despite this, dont be afraid to write down some
really big goals. Just make sure you include some
smaller, easily achievable ones too. The human mind works
best when it recognizes real results.

By setting and then reaching the smaller goals, your mind
will be rewarded by the achievement which will increase
your confidence as you strive toward the bigger goals.

One of your smaller goals might be to write 2000 words
this week. When you reach that goal, youre not only
showing yourself that it is possible, but youre
increasing your motivation levels at the same time.

Your bigger goals may include writing a novel before the
end of the year and getting a publisher to accept it.

Time
Frame

Despite the fact that there are too many books around the
place promising to teach you to write a novel in absurdly
short amounts of time, you need to remember that these
type of books are usually written and
promoted by people who make their living by selling these
books to you, not by writing novels every month.

You need to determine your own realistic time frame based
around your time table and how long you have in each day
to devote to writing.

If you expect your novel to be around 85,000 words, then
divide this figure by 52 weeks in a year and you know you
must write at least 1,652 words each week to see your
novel written before the end of the year.

However, if your goal is to write an 85,000 word novel by
the end of the month, then youll need to write at
least 2,833 words every DAY for 30 days to reach that
goal.

Just as your goal needs to be realistic, so does the time
frame youre allowing to reach that goal.

Deadline

A goal without a deadline is just wishful thinking. You
could write down I want to write a novel on
your goals list, but without direction and purpose,
youll be still wanting to write that same novel 5
years from now.

Be more precise with your goals and actually give
yourself a deadline to work towards.

I will write my novel by [insert date here]

Take a little time to work out exactly how much time
youll need to commit each day and how many words
youll need to create to meet your deadline. When
youre sure its realistically achievable for
you, add a specific date to your list of goals.

Visualization

Writing a list of goals on your computer and then hiding
them away in a folder somewhere isnt going to have
the same effect as writing them on paper with a good old
fashioned pen.

Write down your clearly focused goals, including
deadlines and time frames. Dont forget that smaller
goals are equally as important as the big ones.

When youre done, pin that sheet of paper somewhere
prominent. You might hang it on the fridge or on the wall
over your desk or on the back of your door. Just be sure
its somewhere you can see it regularly.

The more often you read your goals, the more likely you
are to remind yourself to keep working towards them.
Obviously, the more time you spend working towards your
goals and dreams, the more likely you are to accomplish
them.

Every time you read them, make sure you take a little
time to daydream about what your life will be like when
you reach those goals. Daydreaming is a positive form of
visualization and each time you indulge in a day dream
about your goals, youre helping to train your mind
to make your dreams become a reality.

Mindset

You must believe youre capable of achieving every
goal you write on your list. Belief and confidence are
both vital to you reaching your goals and if youve
included goals that are just outrageous, then youre
setting yourself up to fail before youve even
begun.

This doesnt mean you should only strive for things
you already know you can do. Its important to
stretch your abilities a little so you keep growing and
achieving.